Cubs acquire Clayton Richard from Pirates

The Cubs have acquired left-hander Clayton Richard from the Pirates in exchange for cash considerations, as first reported by Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald. Richard will start for the Cubs on Saturday.

Richard, 31, joins the Cubs due to an "upward-mobility clause" in the minor league contract that he signed with Pittsburgh last winter. After posting a 1.89 ERA in ten starts with the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis, Richard was allowed to leave the organization for a big-league opportunity elsewhere if the Pirates did not decide to promote him by July 1. Pittsburgh determined that they were satisfied with their organizational depth, leading to the dealing of Richard to a division rival.

The Cubs had been slated to start Donn Roach on Saturday in place of injured starter Tsuyoshi Wada, but will instead turn to Richard as their temporary fifth starter. The team still may add another pitcher before the trade deadline to shore up a back end of the rotation headlined by Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks.

Richard has not pitched in the majors since 2013 with the Padres, when he was 2-5 with a 7.01 ERA in eleven starts. He is the owner of a career 46-47 record and 4.33 ERA in 147 major-league appearances (129 starts) over six seasons with the White Sox (2008-2009) and Padres (2009-2013)/